Vancouver, Canada: Decorated Canadian war veteran Lt. Col Harjit Singh Sajjan received the Order of Military Merit last Friday, one of the military’s highest recognition, the Order of Military Merit.

He is the first Sikh to receive this award and continues to be a role model for youth across the country as he prepares to serve his country in new ways.

Lt. Colonel Harjit Singh is an Afghanistan war hero who is the first Sikh to command a Canadian Army regiment and who was portrayed as a role model in Ottawa’s latest Welcome to Canada booklet for immigrants. He is also a former Vancouver police officer, decorated after serving once in Bosnia and three times in Afghanistan.

Lt. Colonel Singh joined the British Columbia Regiment as a Trooper in 1989 and was commissioned in the Regiment in 1991. He was promoted to Captain in 1995 and to Major in 2005. Lt. Colonel Singh has served in Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as three deployments to Afghanistan, most recently in November 2010 he was requested to serve as the Special Assistant to US Army Major-General James Terry, Commanding General of 10th Mountain Division and Commander of Regional Command South.

Earlier, Lt. Colonel Singh has history by becoming the first Sikh in Canada to take command of a British Columbia regiment.